FREDERICTON – For the first time in New Brunswick’s capital region, a sexual assault response team is in place for victims.
The team is made up of members from the RCMP and Fredericton Police, St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick, the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital and Fredericton’s Sexual Assault Crisis Centre, among others.
“It’s a team of professionals, agencies and volunteers who’ve come together and are going to work collaboratively to enhance the response,” said Jennifer Richard of the Crisis Centre.
Richard said she wanted to make it as easy as possible for victims to come forward and find the support they need, which includes enhancing support for victims at the hospital.
For the first time in Fredericton, a victim can choose to freeze the evidence of their assault.
“When a patient comes in who’s been sexually assaulted, they have so many decisions to make,” said Emmanuelle Landry, a sexual assault nurse examiner in Moncton and Fredericton.
“The decision to press charges or not can be the most traumatic event that happens in their life. It’s such a hard decision — for them it’s better for it to sit in a freezer and then they can make a decision.”
Landry said the hospital will keep the evidence for up to six months. It’s a service that’s being offered in Moncton but before now, not in the Fredericton area.
Now that a team is in place, victims can get this information and help from several people.
“When women call they’re usually pretty uncertain. They often say, ‘A friend said I should give you a call, but I don’t know if I really need your services,'” said Fiona Williams, executive director of Liberty Lane, a safe haven for women who’ve experienced domestic violence.
“So we just talk to them, and we let them take the lead. We never tell them what they should do.”
The new team officially launched Wednesday.
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